The month of May is dedicated to The
Blessed Virgin Mary. The first 24 days fall within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored). The remainder of the month (beginning the Monday after Pentecost) is in Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection.

The Holy Father's Intentions
for the Month of May 2015

Universal: That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbors who suffer, especially the sick and the poor.

The Gospel readings for all the Sundays in May are taken from
St. John and St. Matthew and are from Year B, Cycle 1.

May
3rd - 5th Sunday of Easter

In today's Gospel Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches.

May
10th - 6th Sunday of Easter

Christ gives the commandment to love as He loves.

May
17th - Ascension/7th Sunday

In this Gospel Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit.

May
24th - Pentecost Sunday

Jesus says the Spirit of truth will come and that everything the Father has is His.

May
31st - Trinity Sunday

Jesus tells the apostles to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Highlights of the Month

As
Spring blossoms forth and we are surrounded by new life, we spend
this month full of the joy of our Easter celebration and in anticipation
of the coming of the Holy Spirit, our Consoler and Advocate.

The saints that we will focus on this month — those
who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection — are St.
Joseph the Worker (May 1), St. Athanasius (May
2), St. Nereus & Achilleus, St. Pancras (May 12), Our Lady of Fatima (May
13), St.
Matthias (May 14), St. Isidore the Farmer (May 15), St. John I (May 18), St. Bernadine of Siena (May 20), St. Christopher Magallanes (May 21), St. Rita of Cascia (May 22),St. Bede, St. Gregory VII and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (May 25), St. Philip Neri (May
26), and St.
Augustine of Canterbury (May 27).

The feasts ofSts. Philip and James (May 3), St. Damian the Leper (May 10) and the Visitation (May 31) are superseded by the Sunday liturgy. The Solemnity of the Ascension (May 14) is celebrated on May 17 (Sunday) in most dioceses in the United
States.

A Time of Grace

The
world is resplendent with Spring's increased light and new growth.
It is Mary’s month in the Easter season and all of nature
rejoices with the Queen of heaven at the Resurrection of the Son
she was worthy to bear. During the remainder of Easter time, let
us endeavor through the prayers of the Holy Liturgy and the Holy
Rosary to deepen our gratitude for the mystery of our Baptismal
rebirth in Christ.

"The month of May, with its profusion of blooms was adopted by the Church in the eighteenth century as a celebration of the flowering of Mary's maidenly spirituality…With its origins in Isaiah's prophecy of the Virgin birth of the Messiah under the figure of the Blossoming Rod or Root of Jesse, the flower symbolism of Mary was extended by the Church Fathers, and in the liturgy, by applying to her the flower figures of the Sapiential Books-Canticles, Wisdom, Proverbs and Sirach.

"In the medieval period, the rose was adopted as the flower symbol of the Virgin Birth, as expressed in Dante's phrase, 'The Rose wherein the Divine Word was made flesh,' and depicted in the central rose windows of the great gothic cathedrals-from which came the Christmas carol, 'Lo, How a Rose 'ere Blooming.' Also, in the medieval period, when monasteries were the centers of horticultural and agricultural knowledge, and with the spread of the Fransiscan love of nature, the actual flowers themselves, of the fields, waysides and gardens, came to be seen as symbols of Mary…" – John S. Stokes

"In
the hierarchy of holiness it is precisely the 'woman', Mary
of Nazareth, who is the 'figure' of the Church. She 'precedes'
everyone on the path to holiness; in her person 'the Church
has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without
spot or wrinkle'". — JOHN PAUL II Mulieris Dignitatem,
1988

Who is
she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright
as the sun?

The
whole universe is invited to acclaim the glories of the Ascending
Christ. He is surrounded with the just of Limbo, with the souls
who had finished their purgatorial expiation and probably with the
saints who came out of their tombs on Easter Sunday: "Ascending
on high He has led captivity captive".

Construct this Pentecost wheel to remind children
of the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. After constructing
the wheel, begin using it seven days before Pentecost, discussing
a gift of the Holy Spirit each night.

Chosen, by lot, to replace Judas Iscariot,
St. Matthias served as a missionary in Judaea, where he is said
to have been stoned and beheaded. A battle axe with silver head
and tawny handle, white open book with inscription "super
Mathiam".